The present invention relates to transactional security systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to security systems used to protect users against identity theft when conducting transactions.
Identity theft in financial transactions is a common concern in today's economy. Stolen checks, credit cards and debit cards provide relatively easy avenues for criminals to illegally purchase goods and services, and drain monetary accounts. Currently, many consumer locations do not provide adequate means for verifying the identity of the purchaser. Generally, credit cards and checks only require a signature comparison or a photograph identification for verification, both of which are made by a cashier. Such verification techniques are easily bypassed by experienced criminals, especially through purchases via the internet.
In addition to identity theft, many institutions that issue credit cards and checks also retain user records, such as photographs, contact information, email addresses, purchase histories, and credit reports. While this may help reduce identity theft, many such institutions are also known to sell the user records to mass-marketers, especially with the advent of mass emailing. This raises many issues with privacy advocates who are wary of providing too much personal information to such institutions. As such, there is a need for a system that provides both identity protection and privacy protection to consumers.